Nelline Opland
'Nelline Opland '(born 22nd of September, 3884, full name: ''Cornelia Godeliva Opland Andersen) is a Kazulian Folkepartiet politician and the current leader of Folkepartiet. In 3911, not yet being a member of the Storting, she was elected to succeed Ingbert Mathiassen as Folkepartiet's party leader in what was seen by many as an upset victory generally attributed to the lack of inspiring older candidates. She is noted for the extremely young age of only 26 at which she was catapulted into both the leadership and national politics in general, she is one of the youngest party leaders in Kazulian political history. However, despite her young age and inexperience, she is generally described as ''"passionate and not altogether uncharismatic". Biography Early life and education Nelline Opland, unlike many Folkepartiet politicians, was born and raised in urban Skalm, growing up in one of its leafy sub-urbs as the daughter of an Aurorian Patriarchal permanent deacon and his wife, a teacher. Through the diaconal work of her father, despite her privileged upbringing, Nelline developed a strong social conscience. At secondary school, she joined the nascent Unge Folkepartiet ''youth organisation, of which she would later serve as President. In 3902, she started studying Political Science at Skalm University, with a minor in Cultural Anthropology. During her time at university, she established a long-lasting friendship with later Storting colleague Janne-Katrine Juel, daughter of Folkepartiet's inaugural leader. Early political career In 3904, Nelline was selected as a delegate for Dreton's ''Fylkeforbundet ''to the Party Council, a position she would hold until being elected Chairwoman of Unge Folkepartiet in 3908 (as she was thereafter an ''ex officio ''delegate to the Party Council). Before graduating in 3907, Opland was immediately approached by Folkepartiet leader Ingbert Mathiassen to become and intern for the party's Storting Group. This internship would soon become a permanent position, though after her election as Chairwoman of Unge Folkepartiet, her activities for the Storting Group were put slightly on the backburner. Regretting the fact that her job was solely political, she accepted a job as a part-time teacher in social studies at a secondary school in Skalm, a job she maintains even after her election to the Storting. Party Leadership (3911-present) After the 3910 election defeat and the ensuing loss of government participation resulted in the resignation of Ingbert Mathiassen and Edvald Dahl from the leadership, Nelline Opland became an unlikely candidate for the leadership. According to sources within the party quoted by the media, her name was put into nomination by several members of the party cadre. As she was set to get married in March 3911, at first Opland was hesitant about letting her name go forward, fearing it would detract from her family life and come too early in her career, dismissing the possibility of election as highly unlikely. She later revealed that the final nudge to allow her name to go forward was given by her longtime friend Janne-Katrine Juel, who had been elected to the Storting during the election, and her fiancé, Ole Andersen, a history teacher whom she met while working as a teacher, who offered to start working part-time to share the parenting load. Running on a platform of what is perhaps best described as radical centrism, Opland's campaign surged ahead to a wide margin of victory over second-placed candidate Adelheid Prestegard, though many note this might also be due to the uninspiring performance of Prestegard's campaign, and was duly elected Folkepartiet leader at the young age of 26, making her one of the youngest party leaders in Kazulian political history. The same day, she was sworn in as a member of the Storting, succeeding party veteran Winnie Fagerland, who retired in order to allow the new leader a seat. The early days of her leadership saw Opland's age become a major issue as fellow Storting members, most notably FV Foreign Minister Erwin Schausberger and the equally youthful Sivilisasjonspartiet leader Bodhi Feyer, occasionally made disparaging remarks about her age. Without a doubt, her age and inexperience made it more difficult than usual for the new leader to find her feet. A prime example is the defeat (grasped from the jaws of victory) of the party's much-desired School Finance Bill by a second u-turn of the ruling Høyre parliamentary group, which analysts pointed out as being caused by her political inexperience, observing that overall she had a tendency to be too nice to her colleagues. There were also successes: Opland's contribution to the acrimonious budget debate, which she started by apologising for the conduct of her fellow MPs and a passionate plea for civility and reason, was very favourably received according to opinion polls and earned her much-needed name recognition. This was further confirmed when a poll conducted by KazulResearch found that Opland, with a favourable/unfavourable score of +14, was the most popular of the party leaders, attributing it to her moderate tone. However, the same poll found that despite her popularity, Nelline was weak as a prime ministerial candidate, with one analyst famously remarking ''"they all think she's a sweet girl but nobody wants her to actually govern them". In late April 3911, Opland announced that she was expecting a child and would be taking 4 months of maternity leave, a decision criticised both by her political opponents and anonymously by sources inside Folkepartiet. During her absence, Deputy Leader Jarmo Nicolaysen and Parliamentary Party Secretary Edvald Dahl deputised for her in the leadership. Her first child, Mikael, was born on the 23rd of May 3911. During her absence, her opponents had been preparing what has been termed a "challenge by proxy": ''a resolution stating that the party leader need not necessarily be the party's Statsministerial candidate. During the fall conference, Opland successfully saw off this challenge. The final part of the 3910-3914 saw the government grow increasingly unstable, especially on the contentious subject of the budget. Especially the government's income tax cuts for the upper brackets were proving difficult in Storting, and during debate on the Tax Reform Bill, it became apparent that the Greens were wavering. Recognising this, Opland and Finance spokesperson Roald Gamst Pedersen were quick to pile on the pressure to drive a wedge, leading to the defeat of the bill. At the same time, they made it clear they would negotiate with the government if the bill failed, but demanded a significant cut in the luxury tax. When the bill finally failed and a motion of no confidence was tabled, Opland and Dahl met with Finance Minister Nordahl and brokered a deal which contained significant middle-class income tax cuts and school finance equality in addition to the desired luxury tax cut. This was widely portrayed as Opland ''"growing up" ''and seen as a major victory for the young leader. Nevertheless, the 3914 elections became a major disappointment for the party, with the party losing an additional 5 of its 12 seats. This was attributed by a party evaluation committee to Opland's decision not to let her personality define the party's campaign. On election night, Opland open-heartedly confessed to the assembled activists that she had cried about the result and that she had genuinely wanted to resign, but had decided not to. Sources later revealed that Hans-Peder Juel and Ingbert Mathiassen had persuaded her not to quit. The announcement was greeted with a surprising round of applause, signifying her popularity among the base, who were still grateful for her gains in policy during the previous term. The Party Council later passed a resolution asking her to stay on as leader, with only delegates from Flindar refusing to support it. The early 3918 elections saw Folkepartiet with 12 seats, but still irrelevant in the face of a renewed right-wing majority led by Erwin Schausberger. When the conservatives collapsed in the face of their relegation to second-place, snap elections were called, during which Opland was able, by obtaining 2 additional seats, to reclaim the pivotal position the party enjoyed under the first Gulbrandsen Cabinet. As Storting returned, observers noted that Opland ''"held all the cards". This time, she was able to exploit it in a difficult formation process which took the better part of a year because her principal demand, a government without Sivilisasjonspartiet, was viewed by Schausberger as unacceptable, but a coalition with the left-wing opposition might endanger the party's newfound economic centrist credibility. After tense negotiations, Opland emerged from the negotiations, having secured the Finance Department for her deputy, Finn Martinsen, alongside major economic policy concessions from the Progressive Alliance. Following another defeat at the 3922 general election, Opland resigned the leadership. Personal life Opland married history teacher Ole Andersen, a teaching colleague, in early 3911. The couple have one child, Mikael. The Opland family lives in sub-urban Skalm. In her free time, Opland is a fervent sailor and alpine skier. Category:Kazulian politicians